Hartwell Lake development go-ahead awaits one final hurdle

FAIR PLAY - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has signed off on the mammoth Sanctuary Pointe development planned for Hartwell Lake, a corps spokesman said Wednesday.

The agreement that will begin moving the project from the drawing boards to reality still requires approval by the State Budget and Control Board, expected at the board's Dec. 12 meeting, according to spokesman Billy Birdwell of the Corps of Engineers' Savannah office.

In a written response to an inquiry from the Independent Mail, Birdwell said that on Nov. 26, the Corps of Engineers provided a signed consent authorizing the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism to further pursue a proposed sublease with Sanctuary Pointe LLC for a 325-acre site off I-85.

If the State Budget and Control Board approves the sublease, which will be between the development corporation and the state, parks agency and the corporation can begin the development phase outlined in the agreement, Birdwell said.

The 325-acre tract lies near Exit 1 on Interstate 85, on the Tugaloo River branch of the lake.

Details of the development plan that have been revealed call for a hotel and conference center, a restaurant, golf courses and cabins, courtesy slips and a resort harbor area. The development site has about three miles of shoreline.

The original plan called for a marina with 300 slips, but a marina is not in the agreement the Corps of Engineers has approved.

One stipulation of the agreement outlined in the corps' consent, according to Birdwell, is that if Sanctuary Pointe LLC wishes to provide marina services the corporation may do so only through a separate agreement with an existing marina operator on Hartwell Lake.

"The Savannah District must review and approve any such agreement," Birdwell said. "Any proposed agreement will also be subject to the existing marina operator's lease with the government."

Because the corps owns the lake and its shoreline, developers and the state must work out agreements before setting up docks or long-term boat storage.

In December 2010, Larry Rich, operator of Harbor Light Marina and a then 13-year leaseholder from the corps, expressed his concerns about the possible harm the proposed marina could have on his business. The cove at the tip of the 325-acre tract where the proposed marina would lie is only about a half mile from Rich's business, and clearly visible across Interstate 85.

Rich said at the time that he had no problem with development installing day- or overnight-use docks but objected to long-term, leased storage space for boats.

He said he would consider that a violation of his own lease agreement with the corps, which involves two marina properties on 43 acres of leased corps land, enough space for 269 boats.

The proposed Sanctuary Pointe development has been in discussion for several years.

The project began with an open request for proposals by the state parks and tourism department in 2008 aimed at developing the wooded lands near the end of the designated scenic highway S.C. 11 into a gateway tourist mecca. The department entered a 50-year lease on the property with the corps in 2007, with the stipulation that a master plan for development be submitted by 2012.

On February 1, Duane Parrish, director of the parks department, said a lease agreement between his agency and the developers was close to completion, subject to corps approval.

.Bringing the developers, the state and the corps together to make the Sanctuary Pointe development possible has been an arduous task, Parrish said, but he expects the result will be worth it. He described the plans as being for "a world-class place" that would be a major tourist and convention magnet to the Upstate.

Parrish said at the time that the project could create 400 to 1,400 jobs.